March 2007

[johngennard]

Anne,the very best of luck for to-morrow.The weather appears to be holding up,at least down here.I am still waiting for the optimum time to show you my pride and joy but am taking pictures daily in case the frost wipes it out.

[Brian Ellis]

Thank you all for your answers, particularly Hans for sending me a copy of the list.  Sadly I have been to a talk by Ann Borrill this afternoon on small bulbous plants with a list of desirables ...then Hans sends the list.  Oh dear I haven't recovered from the Galanthus spending yet    Still a bit of what you fancy does you good, what a great list I will have a good read this evening.

[Mark Griffiths]

Some pics of Cyclamen libanoticum. I really love this plant, it's easy from seed, flowers quickly and it's just beautiful. The first one is labelled JB..now I was given seed by someone whose initials are JB but I have a feeling he told me it originally came from John Blanchard. The other is derived from an Eliot Hodgkin collection in the 60s. The leaves are different, almost glossy, the flowers have more pointed petals and are darker pink. And it's a lot slower and harder to grow.

[Martin Baxendale]

As promised, some tuberous corydalis flowering now in the garden.

First, Corydalis malkensis.

[Martin Baxendale]

Ok that worked. I'll try posting multiple pics.

C. solida varieties:
'Sixtus'
'Dieter Schacht'
'Maxima'
'Cantata'
'Firecracker'

[Martin Baxendale]

Also, some superb bergenia hybrids bought from Blackthorn Nursery on the South Coast a few years ago. They were seedlings, so I picked out the best I could see and this, I think is the best of them all:

[Martin Baxendale]

And a few more from today:

Cardamine quinquefolia is becoming a bit of a weed here. But a lovely one. Most bulbs manage to come up through it.

Then Rhododendron 'Tessa Rosa'.

Magnolia stellata.

Cyclamen pseudibericum in the open garden.

And finally, one of my Helleborus hybridus seedlings. I'm trying to breed good clean pale pinks.

[Martin Baxendale]

I've just done some checking back on the bergenia I posted earlier, and they were seedlings raised at Blackthorn Nursery using the not completely hardy white-flowered B. emeiensis (which I also have) which gives them rather more refined flowers than most hybrids, I think. They've been hardy with me in a sheltered bed near the warmth of the street, for a few winters now. But not through a really hard winter (if we ever get one of those again).

[Maggi Young]

Certainly a good, showy flower on the pink bergenia, Martin. Stands well, too, which can't be said for all of them.

[Lesley Cox]

What a brilliant collection Martin. Thanks a million. But I WISH the Ruksans catalogue hadn't been mentioned and discussed. Thomas in Neustadt sent me an electonic copy (no pics) a while back and I've been having dreams of the contents ever since (and especially following the SRGC January Journal arrived) but then they turn to nightmares as I realize I can't get ANYTHING from it. You in the northern hemisphere and especially in the EU where there seem to be no restrictions on the movement of plant material, or few anyway, have no idea how amazingly fortunate you all are. I truly hope you appreciate it.

[Martin Baxendale]

Yes, Maggi, the very upright strong flower stems were one of the features that made me splash out on (I think) four different seedling plants. They stand bolt upright, not leaning over like many bergenias. And the petals have a lovely smooth and perfect texture to them. The leaves look good all year too, nice and glossy, not coarse and rough. All excellent features inherited from B. emeiensis. I should try some back-crosses.

[KentGardener]

A few pictures from a wonderful spring day yesterday:

Ipheion



Echeveria



Hellebore - single dark



Hellebore - double pink



Hellebore - single pink (plus greenfly!  They have been really badbly affected by greenfly this year - worse than I have ever known).



Hellebore - double white with spots



Greengage



Yellow weed (Ranunculus) to be dug out before seeding.



Forsythia




Fingers crossed for some sunshine today.

John

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Beautiful plants all around the British Isles so it seems - here's some from the continent :

1) Pieris Japonica "Valley Valentine"
2) Magnolia stellata "Kobold" - still undamaged by the weather.
3) Erythronium tuolumnense
4) Muscari azureum
5) Eranthis Cilicia
6) Iris unguicularis "Mary Barnard" - this is an older picture - I'm just posting it because there was a discussion going on a couple of days ago regarding Iris unguicularis.

[David Nicholson]

Martin, John and Luc,

beautiful plants all of you thanks for the pictures. That's another list of "must haves" I have made.

[Paddy Tobin]

The page above was a great photographic treat. Loved seeing all the different plant people grow but was particularly taken by Martin's selection of Corydalis solida cultivars. They are centainly excellent plants.


I can only sympathise with you Lesley re difficulties of obtaining the selection of plants which are available for us here in the northern hemisphere but, then again, you have a wodnerful selection of plants growing in the wild that we would be delighted to have in our gardens.

Paddy